[pharrington]

The LHC is a multi billion dollar project designed specifically to help physicists build physical models that are more accurate than what currently exists. Countless man-years have been devoted to its operation. Apparently, the only thing it has done is confirm what we already knew decades ago. The nightmare scenario is the waste of billions of dollars and a decade of your life, with no alternatives in sight. Remember, the article is from the perspective of a theoretical physicist. This stuff is her life.

[Johnny555]

the only thing it has done is confirm what we already knew decades ago

I thought it confirmed what we thought we knew (and is the only way to confirm it), so that doesn't seem like wasted money.

[GrumpyYoungMan]

It would be more precise to say that it didn't show us anything we didn't already know (other than the Higgs). There are various indications that the Standard Model is not the whole story but the LHC gave no hints whatsoever on what directions to explore next. In that sense, it was wasted money.